Recently, when I was in Connecticut for a ResearchED conference, I learned about brain synchrony in the classroom. This study examines the same concept, but at home, between children and parents. More specifically, the researchers looked at behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony in 140 families with a special focus on attachment. And the results show that more isn’t always better.

In short:

• We assessed attachment representations using narrative measures and interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) during parent-child problem-solving.

• Dyads including mothers with insecure attachment representations showed higher INS in left prefrontal regions.

• Dyads including daughters with secure attachment representations showed higher INS in right temporo-parietal regions.

• INS is a promising correlate to probe the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment representations in the context of parent-child interactions, especially within the mutual prediction framework.

From the press release:

For the first time a new University of Essex study looked at behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony in 140 families with a special focus on attachment.

It looked at how they feel and think about emotional bonds whilst measuring brain activity as mums and dads solved puzzles with their kids.

The study — published in Developmental Science — discovered that mums with insecure attachment traits showed more brain-to-brain synchrony with their children.

Dr Pascal Vrticka, from the Department of Psychology, said: “For secure child attachment development, sensitive and mutually attuned interactions with parents are crucial.

“If the parent, here the mother, has more insecure attachment traits it may be more difficult for the dyad to achieve optimal behavioural synchrony.

“Increased brain-to-brain synchrony may reflect a neural compensation mechanism to overcome otherwise less attuned interaction elements.”

The study also discovered different behavioural and brain-to-brain synchrony patterns depending on whether the parent was a mum or a dad.

Fathers and children showed stronger brain-to-brain synchrony, whereas mums and their kids had stronger behavioural synchrony.

These findings suggest higher father-child brain-to-brain synchrony may reflect a neural compensation strategy to counteract a relative lack of behavioural synchrony.

It hopes this research will springboard studies into parent-child relationships and open new avenues for intervention and prevention.

It comes as Dr Vrticka prepares to work with the NHS to explore family relationships.

He added: “Together with the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, we will soon start looking at synchrony within families with neurodivergent children and children with experiences of care and adoption.

“Our aim is to find behavioural and neurobiological correlates of an optimal range of synchrony to help all families with their relationships and child attachment development.

In doing so, we must appreciate that not only low but also high synchrony can signal interaction and relationship difficulties.”

Attachment was assessed in parents with an interview and in children with a story completion task.

Brain-to-brain synchrony between parents and children was derived from functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning.

Finally, the parent-child interaction was video-recorded and coded for behavioural synchrony.

The study was led by Dr Trinh Nguyen who now works at the Italian Institute of Technology in Rome, Italy, and Dr Melanie Kungl from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany — along with colleagues from Vienna, Berlin, and Leipzig.

Abstract of the study:

It is a central tenet of attachment theory that individual differences in attachment representations organize behavior during social interactions. Secure attachment representations also facilitate behavioral synchrony, a key component of adaptive parent–child interactions. Yet, the dynamic neural processes underlying these interactions and the potential role of attachment representations remain largely unknown. A growing body of research indicates that interpersonal neural synchrony (INS) could be a potential neurobiological correlate of high interaction and relationship quality. In this study, we examined whether interpersonal neural and behavioral synchrony during parent–child interaction is associated with parent and child attachment representations. In total, 140 parents (74 mothers and 66 fathers) and their children (age 5–6 years; 60 girls and 80 boys) engaged in cooperative versus individual problem-solving. INS in frontal and temporal regions was assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. Attachment representations were ascertained by means of the Adult Attachment Interview in parents and a story-completion task in children, alongside video-coded behavioral synchrony. Findings revealed increased INS during cooperative versus individual problem solving across all dyads (𝛸²(2) = 9.37, p = 0.009). Remarkably, individual differences in attachment representations were associated with INS but not behavioral synchrony (p > 0.159) during cooperation. More specifically, insecure maternal attachment representations were related to higher mother–child INS in frontal regions (𝛸²(3) = 9.18, p = 0.027). Conversely, secure daughter attachment representations were related to higher daughter–parent INS within temporal regions (𝛸²(3) = 12.58, p = 0.006). Our data thus provide further indication for INS as a promising correlate to probe the neurobiological underpinnings of attachment representations in the context of early parent–child interactions.